The Hidden Rot in the Jobs Numbers

Hours worked are declining, resulting in the equivalent of a net loss of 100,000 jobs since September.

By

Edward P. Lazear

March 16, 2014 6:29 p.m. ET

Most commentators viewed the February jobs report released on March 7 as good news, indicating that the labor market is on a favorable growth path. A more careful reading shows that employment actually fell—as it has in four out of the past six months and in more than one-third of the months during the past two years.

Although it is often overlooked, a key statistic for understanding the labor market is the length of the average workweek. Small changes in the average workweek imply large changes in total hours worked. The...